Public asked to take online economic development survey

Lovell Inc. Economic Development is seeking the public’s assistance in the completion of a strategic plan for economic development in the form of an online survey.

Director Sue Taylor spoke to the Lovell Town Council along with two representatives of Community Builders, Inc., a Wyoming consulting firm hired to prepare the strategic plan, on Tuesday, April 8.

Since being hired, CBI has been gathering data and information from around Big Horn County and in the communities being served by the strategic plan “so they can become familiar with the community priorities,” Taylor said.

Taylor came before the town council with CBI consultants Bobbe Fitzhugh and Kathy Patceg, and Fitzhugh told the council that the online survey is designed to assess community strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. She urged the council to take the stakeholder survey as members of the public take the community survey.

The survey is brief, with only nine questions: where the survey taker lives and works, what are the greatest strengths and weaknesses of a community, what are the community’s greatest economic opportunities and greatest threats and where does the survey taker purchase various goods, go for a meal or an evening out and go for entertainment or recreation. The last question asks how the local economy has changed over the past five years.

The survey can be taken at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GrowBigHornCounty-CommunitySurvey.

“This survey is a first step in the planning process,” the Survey Monkey website states. “We want to hear from community leaders, residents, land owners, workers, and business owners. Your input is important, especially your values and ideas about economic development.”

Also working with Big Horn County and the towns are CBI’s Joe Coyne and Steve Elledge.